


Pulse

by NightingaleTrash



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff and Angst, i wanted more reyder contect and reactions to ryder dying and this is the result
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25682029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightingaleTrash/pseuds/NightingaleTrash
Summary: Kett are on the move, Ryder's comms are down, and Lexi is the middleman. Sometimes you just want reassurance that the person you love is alive.
Relationships: Female Ryder | Sara/Reyes Vidal
Comments: 5
Kudos: 27





	Pulse

_“-no less than three Kett ships sighted-” “-t approaching the port, I have no clue wh-” “-think they’re leaving the planet-” “-thing big got them moving-” “-sighted in Draullir, they’re moving north-” “-thought Sloane and the Pathfinder killed them-”_

It was a confusing mish-mash of transmissions from across the badlands, enough that even Reyes was getting a headache trying to make sense of what was happening. And this was after he’d directed a handful of his most trusted representatives to send their reports to Keema.

The general gist of it was that Kett had been sighted in the badlands, almost like they’d been popping out of the earth itself. As thorough as Sloane had seemed to be, the Kett had clearly been more deeply entrenched on Kadara than anyone had realised. But what was more concerning than that was the fact that they were leaving.

Kett only left if they were wiped out or they were ordered elsewhere, and given that no one had realised they were there, it could only be the latter.

And that was the concerning part.

“Reyes-”

“I don’t know what’s happening, Keema,” he interrupted, running a hand over his face. “No one seems to-”

“Reyes, I’ve just received a report that the Kett have taken one of the Initiative arks” Keema pressed on, steamrolling over him. “The Hyperion. They say that the Archon himself was among the boarders.”

That was enough to make him freeze in his tracks and he immediately muted the rest of his data feeds to focus solely on Keema.

“They stole an ark? Why?”

It was less aimed at her and more trying to create an idea he could actually grasp and work with.

“I don’t know, but whatever the Kett are up to, they’re on the march. It’s not just Kadara, Reyes. All across the cluster, we’ve got reports of Kett pulling out. They’ve even given up valuable fortifications on Voeld for this. It must be something big for the Archon to be so bold.”

Reyes’ mind started working a mile a minute, eyes flicking back to the steady stream of reports being thrown at him. Crux and the others must have realised he had muted them. Nothing he saw contradicted what Keema had said. The Kett weren’t attempting to engage the Collective or outlaws in the badlands. By all accounts, they were pulling out and leaving the planet for parts unknown.

Sara.

The last time they’d talked, she had mentioned that she was hot on the trail of Meridian, the heart of the Vault network. She must have managed to hit a nerve if the Archon was mustering his forces like this.

And Keema seemed to have had the same thought.

“If anyone knows what’s happening, it’s the Pathfinder,” she said brusquely. “I’ll coordinate our people here while you find out what’s going on. We need to be ready if a fight’s coming.”

She ended the call, but not before Reyes was already patching through to Sara. His heart was beating uncomfortably hard in his chest, as if it was trying to beat for two, and he couldn’t help pacing the room.

“Pathfinder, are you there? Ryder?”

Something icy settled in his stomach when he received only static and a lump began to form in his throat. He adjusted his omni-tool’s settings, trying to delay the encroaching panic that itched at the back of his mind.

“Pathfinder, it’s Reyes. Do you copy?”

Still static, and now he was having to make a conscious effort to keep his breathing steady as he tried their private channel.

“Sara, can you hear me? Are you okay? What’s going on?”

No response. Only static.

As his stomach churned horribly, it took every ounce of control he had to not run straight for his shuttle, find out where the Tempest was, and fly out there himself.

Instead he decided to try a different tact. If Sara wasn’t answering, then maybe someone else could tell him what was happening.

“Doctor T’Perro, are you there? It’s Reyes.”

There was more static, and then-

“Reyes?”

He breathed a sigh of relief. Her voice was fuzzy and it crackled with static, but he could hear her and she sounded calm enough. And that meant she probably wasn’t attending to a life-or-death emergency.

“Yes Doctor. I’m trying to get through to Sara, but-”

“So are we,” she cut over. Her voice was becoming clearer, and so was the edge of urgency in her tone. “We’ve lost all communication with SAM and the Pathfinder team. The Archon took down their comms.”

That… wasn’t good. Though if the Archon had indeed taken the Hyperion, losing SAM seemed like an obvious consequence. But SAM wasn’t vital for QEC, was he? Reyes nearly asked but then realised that Lexi had turned her attention away from him and was speaking to someone else in her clipped, professional tone.

“-medbay’s prepped and ready. And Liam, remember what I said about staying calm.”

Reyes could hear Liam retorting offmic which was quickly followed by Vetra scolding him and the thumping of armoured footsteps on metal floors. Somewhere in the distance, almost completely staticky, there was shouting about signal boosters and settings, and yelled replies about onboard computers not responding. The more he listened to the hustle and bustle in the background, the more evident it was that the Tempest’s crew was in emergency mode.

He chewed the inside of his cheek, now seriously considering the idea of wringing their location out of Lexi and flying out to meet them. Keema could handle Kadara. His representatives knew to answer to her in his absence.

“Reyes, are you still there?”

Lexi brought him back to attention, urgency still lacing her voice but her tone softened somewhat now. And then he remembered why he was calling her in the first place.

“Is Sara okay? What’s happening?”

There was a pregnant pause and his body became tense even as his heart began to sink horribly.

“Reyes, you need to understand-”

“Cut the shit. Is she okay?” he demanded, too agitated to care about losing his temper.

Lexi sighed quietly and he could easily picture her running her hands over her face.

“When Sara became Pathfinder, SAM became a part of her in ways we still don’t fully understand,” Lexi explained, her tone becoming cool and professional. Like whenever doctors in drama vids were delivering difficult news. “He became so integrated with her system, that trying to remove him could kill her. But now that he’s offline-”

Reyes didn’t hear the rest. He stood rooted to the spot, every muscle in his body freezing and his jaw locking. For a moment he was removed from all the sensation in his body, from the confusion of voices outside his door, even the beating of his own heart.

And then it came rushing back all at once.

He collapsed back into his seat, holding his head in his hands as his lungs stuttered and faltered, struggling to draw breath. His eyes felt wet and it was a struggle to blink back the moisture.

Sara had died once in the time he’d known her, but that had been part of a plan, and SAM had revived her quickly enough. This time SAM wasn’t there to bring her back. His absence alone was enough to kill her. And here was Reyes, worlds away and unable to do anything to help.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, and all the company he had was bursts of static activity in his earpiece - a mixture of shouting and running that made about as much sense as the reports he’d been sifting through just minutes ago.

“Reyes, are you there? Reyes?”

He couldn’t bring himself to reply. His mouth flapped uselessly but no sound came out. If he tried any harder than that, he feared that only vomit might come up instead of words.

“Reyes I need you to listen to me,” Lexi ordered firmly; in the background there was the sound of doors sliding open and the tapping of shoes marching across the floor. She was on the move.

“Kallo and Gil are trying to get us through to the team and find out for certain what’s happening. We just got a signal through from the Hyperion. It was just a pulse, very brief, but the onboard computer in Sara’s armour is showing signs of a response.”

Reyes could hear her footsteps being swallowed up by others, and it was evident that the team was on the move.

“A response?” was all he could muster.

“Yes, though it’s not as straightforward as I’d like. Vital signs are all over the place and-”

His heart rose a little.

“You think she’s okay?”

“I don’t know yet. Listen Reyes, I need to be ready in case Sara needs medical attention.“

“Can you give me your loca-”

"Try it now!”

He was cut off by another voice over the comm, a little staticky at first before things smoothed out.

“Pathfinder? Come on…!”

Reyes and Lexi fell silent, as did all the background noise, and he felt his chest tighten as he listened intently.

There was an age-long pause, and a collective held breath before a small, weary voice croaked, “…we’re here Tempest.”

A dry sob left Reyes’ throat as his heart leapt.

She was alive. Exhausted and drained by some apparently gargantuan effort, but he massively preferred exhausted and alive to the alternative. And he wasn’t the only one.

He heard Lexi sigh in relief and a few relieved cheers and sighs around her. The footsteps hastened, and Reyes didn’t stop to think before he stood bolt upright and marched straight out of his private room, beelining for his shuttle.

“Lexi, give me the Tempest’s coordinates. I’ll meet you.”

“Relaying them now. I have to go and tend to Sara, but I’ll give you an update later. Without violating patient confidentiality, of course.”

He let himself have a chuckle at that, even if it wasn’t really a joke.

“Thanks Lexi. I’ll see you all soon.”

[]

Dying never got easier. 

Sara gently probed her mottled skin and winced as a jolt of pain shot through her collarbone. The bruising had blossomed across the left side of her chest and even crept over to the right; it looked more like she had been beaten down in a boxing ring rather than laid on the ground for several minutes.

But it just seemed to be how her body was coping with the stress of her systems forcefully shutting down and starting up. Perhaps it wasn’t the most grim reminder of her brushes with death, but it wasn’t a pleasant one either.

So she pulled her underarmour back up and tried to ignore the deep-rooted aching in her chest as she rose to her feet and began to pace the length of her room.

Ordinarily, she’d have leapt at the chance to change into something soft and loose, but given the current situation, she couldn’t afford the illusion of rest. Not with the Hyperion in Kett hands. If she changed, she'd just have to armour up again later. Might as well stick to underarmour.

Her gut twisted horribly. Casey and Alec had both been on the Hyperion when the Kett took it, and SAM’s router was dark and silent on her desk. An eerie reminder of what the Archon now held in his hands. 

She’d successfully rallied her team, convinced them to stand ready to fight for Meridian, and they were working on rallying the rest of the cluster behind them, but even now she had her doubts. How many would answer the call? 

She dragged a hand through her hair and sucked air in through her teeth. Another pang of pain rang through her chest. 

Wincing again, she dropped down onto the sofa. If she was going to fight against the Archon, she needed to rest, or else it would be one hell of a gauntlet. Well, it would already be a hell of a gauntlet, but a sore chest would make it much worse. The less time she spent wincing over some bruising, the better off she’d be.

But she just couldn’t bring herself to relax. There was so much that needed doing, and it felt wrong that she wasn’t taking part. Everyone else was either prepping the Tempest and the Remnant for action, or were on non-stop calls across the cluster, spreading the word and trying to gather as many people as possible for the fight to take Meridian before the Archon did.

And here was Sara, sitting on a sofa and itching to do anything but rest. Yet if she tried doing anything to help, Lexi would undoubtedly skin her alive.

_“You need to rest,”_ she’d said in that stern, mothering tone of her’s. _“Now go lie down or I’ll strap you to a gurney.”_

There wasn’t a doubt in Sara’s mind that the threat had been completely serious, so she had retreated to her quarters and proceeded to do anything that even remotely resembled resting. All she’d done was pace and fret and fear that she had led the cluster to a point of no-return because she had done nothing but push forward, and in doing so she had played right into the Archon’s hands.

She looked up at the brief rap on her door. It opened before she even got the chance to reply, and she half-expected it to be Lexi coming in to check that she really was taking the opportunity to rest.

“Sara.”

Her heart leapt, and she had to do a double-take to be certain that- yes, Reyes Vidal, in the flesh, had just walked into her room.

His hair was ruffled and messy, and he looked exhausted and strained with worry, as if he’d been running on empty for hours. Just like how she felt to be perfectly honest.

As he started to cross the room, Sara leapt to her feet, not pausing to think, and met him halfway. Her arms automatically wrapped around his middle as his folded around her in a fierce, warm embrace. She felt his nose press into the crook between her shoulder and neck, and he took a deep shuddering breath. Like he was reassuring himself that she was real.

She just buried her face into his chest, taking reassurance in his warmth. Even now she could feel the tension leaving him, the muscles in his back uncoiling beneath her fingers, and she could feel him melting into her, warm and steady and something holding her tightly and gently at the same time.

It felt like weeks since she’d last felt this safe. Enveloped in him, the rest of the world just ceased to be, and what she wouldn’t give to indulge in this feeling more. It was hard to justify travelling to Kadara more than was needed, but getting to steal even a few minutes of time with him was worth the occasional eye roll.

But then it clicked in her brain why all of this seemed so strange.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered, unable to keep the trembling note out of her voice.

“Keema told me about the Hyperion,” he replied. “I tried to call. Couldn’t get through. So I called Lexi. She told me you were-”

He cut himself off with a sharp intake of breath and pressed his lips to her neck. She didn’t need to hear the rest. It was clear enough.

“I’m okay. I’m here, Reyes.”

She ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it out, and kissed him on the hollow of his jaw, as if to prove it, and his teeth grazed her skin as he pulled back.

“I know. But you weren’t, and that scared the shit out of me Sara,” he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. 

His eyes met her’s - green flecked with gold met dark brown - and she could see it in his eyes. Not knowing if she was alive, not knowing if she’d come back from it this time, and not being able to do anything about it except wait for news… It had terrified him. 

The only time she could think of when she had seen him scared was when she’d learned the truth of his identity as the Charlatan. 

_“I liked the way you looked at me. I was afraid that would change.”_

That fear was like a flickering candle compared to this one. This fear had driven him to fly lightyears in search of the Tempest just to reassure himself that she was still alive. Something about knowing that - seeing him like this - made her heart feel tight. Not quite fear, not quite relief. It was a cocktail of emotions she couldn’t really explain in one go. Too intense. Too messy.

All she really knew was that this was the only place she wanted to be right now.

She reached behind her and removed one of his hands from her back, and gently led it to her chest. She rested it over her heart, laced her fingers over his and touched her forehead to his, keeping her eyes locked on his.

“I’m here,” she repeated softly. “We both are. That’s all that matters right now.”

“And what about next time?” he whispered. “Or the time after that? How do I know you’re always coming back?”

“Because I’ll fight for it.”

They held eye contact for a few moments, the words slowly sinking in, before Reyes finally broke it. He swooped down, kissing her hard on the mouth as he cradled her jaw, and Sara couldn’t help but melt into the contact, hands grasping at his shoulders as she kissed back. He tangled a hand in her hair and gently tugged. She groaned, and he kissed harder before stepping back, leading her in step across the room.

She barely even realised what was happening when they were suddenly falling onto the bed, still firmly pressed together. Her leg instinctually wrapped around his waist and she pressed her body against his firmly as her hands trailed down his chest, and while the sensible part of her brain told her that this wasn’t a good idea right now - Lexi would definitely have her hide for it - the need to be as close to Reyes as possible was overriding sense.

Reyes, however, sided with sense.

“Easy there, Pathfinder,” he chuckled, breaking the kiss. “Lexi wouldn’t even let me on board until I swore to make sure that you got some rest.”

Sara huffed and proceeded to kiss his neck while fingering the waistline of his trousers, which only served to make him laugh. He cupped her chin and angled her gaze to meet his.

“We both come back from this fight alive, and you’ll have my undivided attention. I promise,” he said with gentle devotion. “For now, let’s get a little shut eye, okay? It’s been a very long day.”

She pouted, but relented and laid beside him. He brushed a few loose strands of hair out of her face and pressed a kiss to her temple. She curled up and tucked her head under his chin, draping an arm over his waist. He wrapped an arm around her, keeping her close.

As they lay there - and as Sara got over her initial disappointment - her mind turned back to the Hyperion. Were Casey and Alec alright? The Archon needed just one of them for their SAM connection, but keeping one spare would only be an advantage... 

Her stomach flipped. It was sick, trying to get into the mind of the Archon, just to figure out if her family was still alive. And it must have shown, because Reyes bumped his forehead against her's, and his eyes were filled with concern.

"Something bothering you?" he asked, petting her hair.

She hesitated, and said, "my dad and brother. They were on the Hyperion. The Archon wanted SAM and their implants."

She worried at her lower lip.

"I'm scared he has them, but if he has them then they're alive. But dad and Casey - they'll fight, which means the Archon will hurt them, and he only needs one of them, and dad was hurt on Habitat 7 and, and Casey only came out of his coma a little while ago and-"

It came out in a cascade and Reyes held her tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. With every word the reality hit harder. The last members of her family, the only ones who had come with her to Andromeda, were likely in the hands of an alien hellbent on destroying them all and didn't care a jot for the suffering he inflicted, provided he got what he wanted.

"We'll get them back Sara," Reyes said firmly. Then he grinned down at her. "After all. They can't give me the shovel-talk if I help you save them."

She managed a small, wet laugh.

"Dad'll do it out of principle. And Casey? He'll just be mad that I got here first." She grinned in spite of herself. "If anything, I'm the one who'll get shovel-talked."

"Well at least I've got someone to do it on my behalf," he joked.

They shifted closer, legs tangling together, Reyes' nose buried in her hair, and Sara finally began to feel the weight of exhaustion creeping up on her. Her chest was still sore, and her family felt so faraway, but it was reassuring to know that, even if the call-to-arms went unanswered, she wouldn't be facing the Archon alone. She still had people she loved and cared about ready to stand at her side and fight alongside her.

"I love you," she murmured as she drifted off to sleep, engulfed in warmth and safety that she had only ever associated with Kadara.

She was conscious just long enough to hear the murmured reply.

"I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> I am a simple woman. I love a ship, I write angst and fluff for them. I supply nothing else for ships. That is all.


End file.
